Kyle Edmund
Kyle Edmund gave Great Britain the perfect start in their Davis Cup quarter-final tie against Serbia Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images

KEY POINTS

  • British number three defied the elements to secure his maiden Davis Cup win at Tasmajdan Stadium.
  • Persistent rain in Belgrade caused a late start and two significant delays in opening clay singles rubber.
  • James Ward's scheduled clash with Dusan Lajovic will now take place tomorrow at 11.00 BST.

Kyle Edmund celebrated formal confirmation that he will be added to the Great Britain tennis squad for next month's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro by handing his country an emphatic 1-0 lead in their Davis Cup quarter-final tie against Serbia.

The world number 67, beaten by Adrian Mannarino in the first round at Wimbledon, defied two lengthy rain delays to triumph in straight sets over experienced former top 10 singles talent Janko Tipsarevic on the clay court of Tasmajdan Stadium in Belgrade.

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After a torrential downpour forced the first singles rubber of the match to start late, Edmund, who debuted in the competition with defeat to David Goffin in GB's final victory over Belgium in Ghent last November, led 2-1 before dreadful conditions forced the players off after just 30 minutes.

Upon their return an hour later, the right-hander immediately secured the first break of serve before confidently holding and easily seeing out the opening set.

Utilising his fast and powerful forehand to great effect, South Africa-born Edmund claimed another break in the very first game of set number two and backed that up by saving two break points to lead 2-0 before yet more rain and gloom threatened to stifle his significant momentum.

Undeterred by another prolonged stoppage and further drizzle, however, the British number three remained confident under the floodlights in front of a rapidly dwindling crowd to wrap up a comprehensive 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 win.

"To get us off to a good start was great," he said after a maiden Davis Cup triumph. "Each set I really found my game. I was very pleased with my win."

Andy Murray
Andy Murray played the role of GB cheerleader in Belgrade Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images

It was a hugely disappointing, error-strewn showing from Tipsarevic, a two-time US Open quarter-finalist who reached a career-high ranking of eight in 2012. The 32-year-old missed 17 months of action after undergoing two surgeries to remove a benign tumour in his left heel last year and has also suffered with patella tendonitis in his right knee that forced his absence from Flushing Meadows. His latest Grand Slam comeback at Roland Garros ended with a swift loss to Mikhail Youzhny and he was later beaten in four sets by Gilles Simon at SW19.

James Ward was also scheduled to meet Dusan Lajovic on Friday evening, but, in light of poor conditions, the decision was eventually taken to postpone that contest until 11.00 BST tomorrow morning. Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot are also in action on Saturday as they battle Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic in the solitary doubles rubber.

Andy Murray, who played a gruelling 11 matches en route to GB's first Davis Cup title for 79 years in 2015, encouraged Edmund from the sidelines in Belgrade but will play no part in the tie as it has come too soon after his second success at Wimbledon. He is instead focusing on defending his Olympic title before mounting another charge at the US Open. World number one Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troicki are the key absentees for Serbia.

Davis Cup Andy Murray